South Korea’s rhythmic gymnastics star Son Yeon-jae finished fourth in the individual all-round at the world championships in Turkey, brightening the prospects for a gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games on her native turf.
She came on top among the Asian participants, beating her Chinese rival Deng Senyue, who finished fifth by a margin of 1.167 points. They will clash again for the gold at the Incheon Asian Games this week.
Korea’s Son Yeon-jae competes in the individual ribbon final at the world championships in Izmir, Turkey. (EPA-Yonhap)
Son received 70.933 points in the individual all-round final at the 2014 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Izmir, Turkey, after completing four routines in hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon, while Deng earned 69.766.
In hoop, she took 17.950, lower the 17.966 points she earned in the apparatus final on Tuesday.
She seized bronze in hoop to become the first Asian athlete to stand on the podium at the world championships tournament.
The South Korean gymnast earned 17.800 and 17.833 in the clubs and ribbon, respectively, but collected 17.350 in the ball event due to a mistake.
Russia’s Yana Kudryavtseva defended her world championships title with 75.266 points, followed by her teammate Margarita Mamun with 74.149 and Ukraine’s Ganna Rizatdinova with 72.449.
Son will seek her first-ever Asiad gold at Incheon, with the rhythmic gymnastics events starting on Wednesday. (Yonhap)
